General
Unit 1 Singing in Tune Respecting Traditional Rhythms
My goals
By the end of this unit, I will be able to:
Identify some traditional songs and sing them to their rhythms.
Listen to and explain the words of the selected songs.
Enjoy singing with others in public with confidence.
Enjoy life and respect it.
Genocide
Songs are a means of communication. The messages in these songs are
meant for us to learn something. These messages are called themes. For
example songs about genocide. Do you know any? Sing it again to your friends.
Activity 4
Now do the following:
1. Talk about what you know about genocide both in Rwanda and outside Rwanda.
2. Identify the groups of people in Rwanda mentioned in the song and which part of Rwanda they originally live in.
3. What good things are mentioned in the song that we should do?
4. What were the consequences of genocide to Rwanda?
5. Identify from the song what we should do to avoid genocide.
6. Suggest other ways of avoiding genocide that are not mentioned in the song.
Activity 5
Performing
Get ready to do the following:
1. As practice makes perfect, practice the song about genocide more.
2. Prepare the stage, in front of the class and perform your song,
clapping, matching and dancing for your classmates.
3. After performing, allow your classmates to tell you what was most
interesting and what they did not like above your performance.
4. Let your classmates also perform for you. When you are the viewer of the performance then you are called the audience. As
they did to you, tell them what was most interesting and what they need to improve to make their performance better.
Practical Activity 6
Assignment/home work/research
1. During your free time outside class, find out any other songs
about genocide and choose one.
2. Learn it so that you will present in correct tune and traditional
rhythm to your class or the whole school in a concert on a specific
selected day during the term.
Unity and Reconciliation
Activity 7
1. Do you always enjoy working with others? Name some things you always do with other people.
2. When your friends annoy you, do you ever forgive them? What can you always do to bring people who are annoyed with each
other, to bring them back to be friends again?
Look at the Picture Below and state what these people are doing together
3. Why do you think what they are doing is good?
4. What other things have you seen people doing together? For
example at home, school and around your villages.
5. What things stop people from working together? And how can these things be avoided?
Activity 8
1. Have you ever heard a song about unity and reconciliation? Sing it to your friends.
2. Here is another song about Unity and Reconciliation learn to sing and match it to the traditional rhythm
UBUMWE
Activity 9
Singing to memory and matching to rhythm
1. Sing the song about “Unity and Reconciliation” without looking at
the words in the book.
2. Sing the song as you clap and identify where the strong beats are and the weak ones.
3. Then sing as you stamp at these strong beats and clap the weak ones. The difference will come out that the starting rhythms are mostly strong, followed by the weak ones.
4. In order to learn rhythm more, now let us sing our song about “Unity and Reconciliation” we move and clap at the same time.
In our first lesson we found out that it is interesting to move to the rhythm of the songs, clap and dance to them at the same time. Now you can try it out again with the song about “Unity and Reconciliation” in order to enjoy yourself.
Take note: We can match songs to rhythms by clapping, stamping and snapping
Activity 10
1. What does our song say about unity and reconciliation?
2. Why should we forgive and how many times?
3. Bringing people who have annoyed each other to become friends and work together is known as reconciliation. Why is it good to reconcile with one another?
Activity 11
Performing
Need to learn to always work with others in order to sing well in
public. Get ready to do the following:
1. Practice the song more.
2. Prepare the stage in front of the class and perform your song with clapping, and dance to your classmates.
3. After performing, allow them to tell you what was most interesting and what they did not like in your performance.
4. You should provide audience to the pupils to perform for you. You will do the same for your classmates with an aim of helping them improve.
Practical Activity 12
Assignment/home work/research
1. During your free time outside class, find out any other songs about “Unity and Reconciliation”.
2. Learn so that you will present to your class or the whole school in a concert on a specific selected day during the term.
Gender equality
Our families and societies are made up of either men or women. These two groups are similar and different in some ways.
Activity 13
Indicate whether these statements are false or true.
1. Women give birth to children.
2. Men cook food.
3. Women have beards and deep voices.
4. Men have soft voices, and large breasts.
5. Women do not eat chicken and climb trees.
6. Men are the only ones to make money for the family.
7. Children and land are for Men.
8. Women are weak and Men are strong.
9. Boys are brighter than girls in this class.
10. Arts subjects are for girls and science for boys.
Apart from the things that God created differently on us that we cannot change, all the things that you can just learn to do are good to be done by both women and men or else much work may be left for one group of people. If we do this, then this practice is called gender equality.
Activity 14
Singing to memory and matching to rhythm
1. Do you know any song that talks about either men or women? Sing it to your friends. What does it say about them?
Here is another chance to enjoy singing and matching to the rhythms.
This time our song is called “Gender Equality.”
Let us sing
UBURINGANIRE
Activity 16
Performing
Get ready to do the following:
1. As practice makes perfect, practice the song more.
2. Prepare the stage, in front of the class and perform your song, by clapping and dancing for your classmates.
3. After performing, allow them to tell you what was most interesting and what they did not like in your performance.
4. You should provide audience to the pupils to perform for you.
You will do the same for your classmates with an aim of helping them improve.
Post Activity 17
Assignment/home work/research
1. During your free time outside class, find out any other songs about Gender Equality.
2. Learn it so that you will present it to your class or the whole school in a concert on a specific selected day during the term.
Patriotism
Activity 18
There are some people who have sacrificed a lot for their countries.
1. Can you name some people who have loved and worked hard and sacrificed their lives to make Rwanda a good country? The love and sacrifice to make one’s country the best is called Patriotism.
2. Look at the pictures below and guess the names of the people you see and what they did to show that they loved their countries. Use the answers given after the pictures.
a) Mrs. Wangari Mathai campaigned for growing trees in order to protect the environment.
b) President Paul Kagame fought against genocide in Rwanda.
c) Mahatima Gandi fought for the independence of India.
d) President Julius Nyerere led Tanzania to its independence
Do you know any song that talks about great people and how they
have worked for their countries? Sing it to your friends. What does it say about them?
Activity 19
Singing to memory and matching to rhythm
Here is another chance to enjoy singing and matching to the rhythms.
This time our song is about the love for Rwanda. You sing together with your friends.
Let us sing
Activity 20
Singing to memory and matching to rhythm
1. Sing the song about Rwanda without reading any where.
2. Sing the song as you identify where the strong beats are then you
stamps at these beats stronger than the others.
3. In order to learn rhythm more, now let us sing the song as you match and clap at the same time.
4. Just as in the former lesson, let us match to the rhythm of the songs, clap and dance to them at the same time to enjoy more.
Activity 21
Singing to memory and matching to rhythm
1. Do you know any song that talks about either men or women?
Sing it to your friends. What does it say about them?
Here is another chance to enjoy singing and matching to the rhythms.
Our song this time is called Gender Equality.
Activity 22
Answer the following questions about the song.
1. What are the things that the people in the song love about Rwanda?
2. Name the features that make Rwanda a beautiful country and the others that have not been mentioned in the song.
3. Identify the things the song tells you to do for Rwanda.
4. In your own view what do you think should be done to make Rwanda a better place to live in?
Activity 23
Performing
Get ready to do the following:
1. Perfect, practice the song more.
2. Prepare the stage, in front of the class and perform your song, by clapping, and dancing for your classmates.
3. After performing, allow them to tell you what was most interesting and what they did not like in your performance.
4. You should provide audience to the pupils to perform for you. You will do the same for your classmates with an aim of helping them improve.
Post Activity 24
Assignment/home work/research
1. During your free time outside class, find out any other songs about Patriotism.
2. Learn it so that you will present it to your class or the whole school in a concert on a specific selected day during the term.
Church
Every time we go to church, the choir leads us in singing. The songs sung
in churches are called church songs or hymns.
Post Activity 25
1. In this picture people are at church. Why do people go to church?
Activity 26
Let us share
1. Are you a member of any choir? Which one? Do you know any
church song? Sing it for your friend. Find out the meanings in the song which you have sung.
2. There is one for you here to learn and sing together as you learn to match the rhythm more.
Let us sing
KOMEZA INZIRA
Practical Activity 27
Singing to memory and performing with rhythm
Sing the song “KOMEZA INZIRA“ from memory.
1. Sing the song and identify where the strong beats are then stamp at these beats stronger than the others. How different are the rhythms in this song about church and Rwanda. Is it fast or slow?
2. In order to learn rhythm more, now let us sing our song "KOMEZA INZIZRA" as we match and clap at the same time.
3. Now match as you clap and dance the song.
Activity 28
Discussion
1. Name different Christian religions you know
2. Which other religions are in Rwanda?
3. On which days do Christians go to church?
4. What does the song say about God?
5. What does religion teach us?
Activity 29
Performing
1. As practice makes perfect, practice the song more
2. Prepare the stage, in front of the class and perform your song, by clapping, and dancing for classmates.
3. After performing, allow them to tell you what was most interesting and what they did not like in your performance.
4. You should provide audience to the pupils to perform for you. You will do the same for your classmates with an aim of helping them improve.
Post Activity 30
Assignment/home work/research
1. During your free time outside class, find out any other songs about church.
2. Learn it so that you will present it to your class or the whole school in a concert on a specific selected day during the term.
Glossary
Church: place of worship
Compose: create a song
Gender equality: men and women getting equal rights
Genocide: Intentional action to destroy people(an ethinic, rational, racial or religious group) in whole or part
Lyrics : words of a song
Patriotism: the love for our country
Perform: to sing, play an instrument and dance
Rhythm: aniform movement.
Stage: any space used to perform
To sing By Memory: to learn a song by hearing
Tune: simple song
Unity and reconciliation: to live together and the act of solving the disagreement which may divide us